BIOGRAPHY

Born in Haifa, Israel, Ofer Ben-Amots gave his first piano concert at age nine and at age sixteen was awarded First Prize in the Chet Piano Competition. Later, following composition studies with Joseph Dorfman at Tel Aviv University, Mr. Ben-Amots was invited to study at the Conservatoire de Musique in Geneva, Switzerland. There he studied with Pierre Wismer and privately with Alberto Ginastera. Ofer Ben-Amots is an alumnus of the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, Germany, where he studied with Martin Redel and Dietrich Manicke and graduated with degrees in composition, music theory, and piano. Upon his arrival in the United States in 1987, Ben-Amots studied with George Crumb and Richard Wernick at the University of Pennsylvania where he received his Ph.D. in music composition. Currently on the faculty of Colorado College, Dr. Ben-Amots is an Associate Professor of music composition and theory.

Ofer Ben-Amots’ compositions are performed regularly in concert halls and festivals worldwide. His music has been performed by such orchestras as the Zürich Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, ÖRF - Austrian Radio Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, The Moscow Camerata, the Filarmonici di Sicili, the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, The Portland Chamber Orchestra, and the symphonies of Heidelberg, Erfurt, Brandenburg, and Colorado Springs among others. His compositions have been professionally recorded by the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Barcelona Royal Symphony, the BBC Singers, and the renowned Czech choirs Permonik and Jitro. Ben-Amots has received commissions and grants from the MacArthur Foundation, Fulbright Foundation, Maurice Amado Foundation, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Fuji International Music Festival in Japan, Delta Ensemble from Amsterdam, Assisi Musiche, Musica Nova in Tel Aviv, and many others.

Ofer Ben-Amots is the winner of the 1994 Vienna International Competition for Composers. His chamber opera, Fool’s Paradise, was premiered in Vienna during the 1994 festival Wien modern and has become subsequently part of the 1994/95 season of Opernhaus Zürich. He is recipient of the 1988 Kavannagh Prize for his composition Fanfare for Orchestra and the Gold Award at South Africa’s 1993 Roodepoort International Competition for Choral Composition. His Avis Urbanus for
amplified flute was awarded First Prize at the 1991 Kobe International Competition for Flute Composition in Japan. In 1999, Ben-Amots was awarded the Aaron Copland Award and the Music Composition Artist Fellowship by the Colorado Council on the Arts. Dr. Ben-Amots is a member of the Board of the Milken Archive of American-Jewish Music. In addition, he is a Jerusalem Fellow of the Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity and its Artistic Director for North America since 1997.

Ofer Ben-Amots’ works have been repeatedly recognized for their emotional and highly personal expression. The interweaving of folk elements with contemporary textures, along with his unique imaginative orchestration, creates the haunting dynamic tension that permeates and defines Mr. Ben-Amots’ musical language. His music has published by Baerenreiter, Kallisti Music Press, Muramatsu Inc., Dorn, and Tara Publications. It can be heard on Naxos, Vantage, Plæne, Stylton, and other recording labels.